The Doobie Brothers
Ball Arena
Denver, Colorado, United States
August 29, 2024

lineage: Sony ECM-717 (mic) / Sony PCM-M10 (recorder) > 24/96 > 16/44 (downsampling, limiter on loud claps and nearby coughing using Audacity) > CD wav (track splitting) > MP3Tag (for file tagging) > FLAC (using Traders Little Helper) Level 8

The Doobie Brothers:
Tom Johnston
Patrick Simmons
Michael McDonald
John McFee
John Cowan
Marc Russo
Marc Quinones
Ed Toth

Setlist (1:41:52)

01 Take Me In Your Arms (Rock Me A Little While)
02 Rockin' Down The Highway
03 Depending On You
04 You Belong To Me
05 Cannonball
06 Sweet Maxine
07 It Keeps You Runnin' (with Lily Winwood)
08 Eyes Of Silver
09 One Step Closer
10 World Gone Crazy
11 Minute By Minute
12 Without You
13 Jesus Is Just Alright
14 What A Fool Believes
15 Long Train Runnin'
16 China Grove
17 Black Water
18 Still Crazy After All These Years jam
19 Takin' It To The Streets
20 Listen To The Music

Notes: Concert #2 for the year and 4 out of 5 of them are within weeks of each other. It has been something of an unfulfilled desire to see The Doobie Brothers in concert - they were last in the Denver area a year or two ago, but the timing wasn't good for us to attend. Further, my wife is somewhat mystified by my interest in the Doobs, though she is a big fan of Steve Winwood, so when this date was announced, it made for an easier sell.

I'm personally most interested in the Doobie-era that includes Michael McDonald - my entrance into the Doobies was circa 1985, via the Farewell Tour album, which heavily accents that particular time period, so this was pretty much the show for which I've been waiting. Of course, the more guitar oriented, Tom Johnston-led earlier era is also great - listening to this performance, I'm struck by how solidly the DBs are entrenched in the classic rock format. In fact, between them and the songs performed by Steve Winwood, one could say that these performances were a master class in the genre. I knew every song performed by both acts and my wife probably knew 80% or more.

Michael McDonald did seem to be having some vocal-related issues - I was somewhat disappointed that he did not sing It Keeps You Runnin', which was instead performed by Steve Winwood's daughter, Lily, guesting with the headliner. Additionally, I note that there is a slight setlist change between this performance and those from earlier in August, as Here To Love You (a McDonald vocal) was dropped and Sweet Maxine (a Johnston vocal) was added - not a bad substitute at all. Further, McDonald was nowhere near as scatty on his other songs as he has been in other performances and he did sound like he was straining (I've thought that of every reunion performance I've heard in the last couple of years, but especially on this night). This is the end of the tour, so I'm guessing it had something to do with fatigue or illness and a desire not to cancel the whole show.

The Ball Arena (formerly known as the Pepsi Center, which is still how we refer to it) is a basketball arena and we were seated in our typical section of 104, which means we were on the lower level, but a bit ways back from the stage. There was someone behind me who was quite vocal at the beginning but got quieter as the show progressed. I limited that and nearby clappers, coughers and whistlers, but otherwise this is how it sounded at the venue. The gentleman to my right, while an inch or two shorter, had a head probably 30% bigger than mine (and I have a big head), so it was a struggle to snap pictures and keep the mic aimed at the speakers. Personally, I'm pretty considerate of my neighbors and try not to stand or move or otherwise partake in activity that I know will be distracting to others - this gentleman had no such concern. No judgement intended - he paid his money, too, and I accept that he wanted to dance with his SO for the show, and fortunately, he wasn't particularly loud. Just a well-embellished noggin! Not sure it made a huge difference in the quality of the recording. My wife was very tired - it was, after all, a school night, albeit one heading into Friday - so, we left at the very end of the performance, missing the band's parting words. The ending of the final song is a touch abrupt (the whole song is there, just not much audience ambience following).

I've also included 55 photos taken from our seats - they ain't art, but they give you an idea of the stage set-up and how the show looked from where we sat.

Finally: please don't sell the recording, but, otherwise, do with it what you wish. Share it and trade it, and remember: these and other greats will not be around forever, so, let's enjoy them while we have them. Best wishes to all of the fans out there and Namaste.

Images for all shows as well as full size images for this show.

Images for this show:











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